Hospitality | Tourism 2023: CHRISTOPHER J. NASSETTA

PRESIDENT AND CEO, HILTON WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS, McLEAN

Published August 30, 2023 by Virginia Business

Nassetta is the longtime president and CEO of one of the world’s largest hospitality companies. Hilton has a portfolio of 7,200 properties and 19 brands in 122 countries and territories, including high-end hotels Waldorf Astoria and Conrad and mid-level chains such as Doubletree by Hilton.

Nassetta joined Hilton in 2007 after investment firm Blackstone acquired the company in a $26 billion deal. Hilton went public again in 2013. In the past 15 years, Nassetta has more than doubled the company’s footprint.

The company returned to the Fortune 500 list this year following a two-year absence in the wake of the pandemic. Travel demand continues to grow as pent-up demand prompts the return of business and leisure travel, especially in Europe, Nassetta told The Wall Street Journal in December 2022.

A graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, Nassetta spent 10 years at Host Hotels & Resorts, serving first as chief operating officer and then as president and CEO before taking the helm at Hilton in 2007.

Nassetta was named chair of the U.S. Travel Association in February and sits on the board of CoStar Group.

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